| Doi Inthanon and Doi Chiang Dao (19 December 2004 to 28 December 2004) |
| Introduction and Brief Overview of Trip I was able to pay a short trip to Thailands magnificent North-western region in end December after I finished all my college first year examinations and after a very short vacation to Kuala Lumpur to catch up with family. This is merely a brief summary to the trip and I hope whatever information I have here will be useful for all my friends and any fellow birdwatchers travelling to Thailand's extremely pretty north. As might be expected, we flew into Don Muang International Airport and caught a north bound express train to ChiangMai city, the whole journey taking a comfortable 13 hours overnight. Thailand's trains are very confortable and for once, I could see punctuality in trains after travelling for a few years in Asia. Trains are often either at most 1 minute ahead or behind of schedule and never later. Because of this, I have gotten a good impression of the Thailand's railways and will probably travel more in future there by train. The journey from DM to ChiangMai cost approximately 500 bahts or 20 Sing dollars. From ChiangMai, we bargained a tuk tuk to fetch up to Malee's place at Chiang Dao for 800 bahts, a lovely journey that cuts through verdant rolling hills for 3 or so hours. Malee's place charges 200 bahts for a night in chalet style huts and was simply delightful...Pad thai served and Pad See-iu was among the best we ate here and coupled with lotsa company and a crackling fire on ten degree's night, call for a return trip real soon! From Chiang Dao, we took a long distance tut tuk for 1200 baht to get to Mr Daeng's Shop were we stayed for 6 wondrous nights, the journey was 6 hours and Mr Daeng's was at about 1500 metres above sea level, or roughtly the altitute of Genting Highlands. High Altitute coupled with the the boreal winter mean that bathing was not an enjoyable affair... While accomodation was basic, we cant really ask for more as Mr Daeng more than make up for everything with his charming personality, laughters and mouth-burning dishes!!!.... Birdwatching in General in Thailand and Birds of the North I have never been able to do a long-term trip to Thailand thanks to a rather inflexible college timetable, and this was made so by lots of liitle work and assignments here and there. So this trip was really and eye opener for me, and we managed 200 over species by only focusing on the Northern Bird rich region. From a avifaunal point of view, birds in Northern Thailand tends toward to Himalayan region , more than to any other faunal region though it carry with it some elements from Indochina, Indomalaya and Indoburman, albet a very meagre one. Any ornithologist who has been able to take a look at this region's avifauna will notice the overwhelming majority of a large variety of montane tree-babblers that typify birdlife in the Himalayas. There are plenty of fulvettas, sibias, minlas, yuhinas and barwings , and as for the other families, there are numerous representatives from the tit family and crow family. In fact, i would find the bird fauna in Doi Inthanon and Doi Chiangdao a little reminiscent of the birds that i had encountered in Fraser's hill and probably North India too. Doi Inthanon was particularly memorable, thanks to its high daily density of birds, and for much of the day, there was never a momnent, for birds was always around, be it the barbets and the babblers. Ang Kaa Marsh, a small area of wetland of a few hectares in area right at the summit of Doi Inthanon seemed to have a continuous burst of activity, and what makes it really really pleasant to bird here is the cool temperatures and vegeatation. Ang Kaa was like a macroscopic bonsai garden. It has lots of old oaks trees with gnarled brances, drapped heaviliy with enormous festoons of ferns, mosses and countless other epiphyte. The boardwalk that is built through Ang Kaa transects a sphagnum bog that is , scattered with dense clumps of vegetation and it is here that we were able to locate lots of skulkers. Doi Chiangdao was a little different from its taller brother, in terms of vegetation, and birdlife. First of all, I thought i might be good to clarify that Doi Chiangdao, is not a mountain or a peak by itself, but rather more like a collection of various peaks siting on a broad massif, i guess Kinabalu would be a little analogous to Chiagdao. Vegetation on Chiangdao appears to be more subjected to disturbance, as seen by a preponderance of Pine trees, and grassy growth, in the undergrowth or sometimes tall pen grassy expanses. But the presense of secondary formations does introduce a great due of diversity of habitat to Chiangdao and we can note that a few of the key Chiangdao species are dependant on pines, in the case of Giant Nuthatch and tall grasses, in the case of Hume's Pheasant. While a vast majority of the species overlaps on both Mountains, there is still good reason to pay a trip to each to see the specialties of each, and get familiar with the montane birdlife. And not just about the birds , because I feel that each mountain preserves and present its one unique character, as a result of the combination of peoples, vegeatation and landscapes peculiar to it. Lastly, with so many bird waves passing through, it seems unlikely that there will be many moments where your binoculars will be dangling uselessly from your neck. Getting to Doi Inthanon A long tarmac access road that stretches from near the entrance of park to the summit of almost 40 km makes doing proper justice to the park no easy task, especially if one is without any transport. But this problem can be easily remedied by renting a car. During my research phase, I found that it was possible to rent a Caribian from Northwheels, a well trusted car rental company for a day for some 800 to 1000 baht, and that is without a driver. I guess it will cost a little bit more if one was to do with a driver.(Northwheels website). The number to the office in Chiangmai is 66 53 874478. For myself and my 2 fellow companions, we hired a SongThaew from Malee's Place for 1200 baht to take us direct from ChiangDao , all the way to Mr Daeng's Shop at Km 31 and this journey should take you about 4 or so hours. If one is driving, access is easy, for one has simply to drive towards the town of Chom Tong from Chiangmai, Muang and around the 58 km marker, turn right on the turnoff on a road that will lead all the way up to the mountains summit at the 48 km. Notable Dips Thanks to a driver who turned up almost 2 hours late, we effectively lost all the chances we had of seeing the 2 keybirds of Doi Chiang Dao, that is the nuthatch and Hume's Pheasant. It would be advisable to get hold of the driver's contact from Malee the night before so that one can call him once the clock ticks pass 5. Normally, for trips up DenYaKhat, it is a standard affair that the driver reports at 5. Here is a day to day account of the birds seen at the respective localities.... 19 December 2004 (Area covered : Walk to the Wat and Temple Gully) Species seen included Blue-throated Barbet, Crested Treeswift, Gold-fronted Leafbird, Great Iora, Black-hooded Oriole, Black, Puff-throated, Grey-eyed and Black-crested Bulbuls, Streaked Wren Babbler, Siberian Blue Robin, Grey-backed Shrike, Yellow-bellied Warbler, Hill Blue and Verditer Flycatchers, White-crowned Forktail. (total : 50 species recorded) 20 December 2004 (Area covered : Trail to Wat and Temple Gully) Species seen included Scaly-breasted Partridge, Green-billed Malkoha, Striated Swallow (abundant), Bar-winged Flycatcher-Shrike, Great Iora, Common Green Magpie, White-browed Scimitar-Babbler, Grey-throated Babbler, Streaked Wren-Babbler, Brown-cheeked Fulvetta, Greater Necklaced Laughing-Thrush, Bianchi's Warbler, Grey-headed Canary-Flycatcher, Velvet-fronted Nuthatch. (total : species recorded including many repeats) 21 December 2004 (Area covered : road up to DenyaKhat Substation) Species seen included Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpecker, Stripe-breasted Woodpecker, Blue-bearded Bee-eater, Mountain Imperial Pigeon, Eurasian Jay, Grey Treepie, Silver-breasted Broadbill, Grey-chinned, Scarlet and Long-tailed Minivet. Large, Black-winged and Indochinese Cuckooshrike, Flavescant Bulbul, Striated Yuhina, White-browed Shrike-Babbler, Hainan Blue Flycatcher, Rufous-gorgetted Flycatcher, Slaty-backed and Black-backed Forktail, Grey Bushchat, Black-throated Laughing-Thrush, Ruby-cheeked Sunbird, Common Hoopoe. (total : 57 species) 22 December 2004 (Area covered : 31.5 km up to Summit Bog) Species seen included Rufous-throated Hill-Partridge, Great Barbet, Gold-throated Barbet, Wedge-tailed Green-Pigeon, Speckled Wood-Pigeon, Ashy Wood-Pigeon, Black-tailed Crake, Common Buzzard, Bronzed, Ashy, Spangled, Greater and Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo, Blue-whistling and Eye-browed Thrushes, Green Cochoa, Orange-flanked Bush-Robin, Yellow-cheeked Tit, White-headed Bulbul, Ashy-throated, White-tailed, Yellow-browed Leaf-Warbler, Japanese White-eye, Chestnut-crowned laughing-Thrush, Chestnut-tailed Minla (Abundant), Chestnut-fronted Shrike-Babbler, Spectacled Barwing, Green-tailed and Mr's Gould's Sunbird. (Total : 56 species) 23 December 2004 (Area covered : 31.5 km to Summit Bog) Species seen included Rufous-throated Hill-Partridge, Ashy Wood Pigeon, Yellow-bellied Fantail, Blue-whistling, Dark-sided, Scaly, Chestnut and Eye-browned Thrushes. Snowy-browed Flycatcher, White-browed Shortwing, Chestnut-flanked, Japanese White-eyes, Pygmy Wren-Babbler, Blue-winged and Chestnut-tailed Minla, Rufous-winged and Grey-cheeked Fulvetta (abundant),Black-headed Sibia, Streaked Spiderhunter and both Green-tailed and Mr's Gould's Sunbird. (Total : 46 species) 24 December 2005 (Areas covered : Jeeptrack 37.5 km, Vachirathan Waterfall, and Driver's Orchard) Species seen included Gold-throated Barbet, Pintail Snipe, Changeable Hawk-Eagle, Blue-winged Leafbird, Large-billed Crow, Maroon Oriole, Blue Whistling, Dark-sided, Scaly and Eye-browed Thrushes, White-browed Shortwing, White-tailed Robin, Plumbeous Redstart, White-capped Water-redstart, Brown-throated Treecreeper, Mountain, Black-crested, Black-headed, Puff-throated and Grey-eyed Bulbul, Slaty-bellied Tesia, Black-eared and Chestnut-fronted Shrike-Babbler. (total : 55 species) 25 December 2005 (Areas covered : Summit Bog and 37.5 km Jeep Track) Species seen included Ashy Wood Pigeon, Maroon Oriole, Blue-Whistling and Dark-sided Thrush. Green and Purple Cochoa, Orange-flanked Bush-Robin, Yellow-cheeked Tit and most Bulbuls and Babblers. (total : 37 species) 26 December 2005 (Areas covered : 13 km mark forest and 34.5 km Jeep Track) Species seen included Grey-capped Pygmy-Woodpecker, Speckled Piculet, Black-headed Woodpecker, Gold-throated Barbet, Coppersmith Barbet, Blue-bearded Bee-eater, Crested Treeswift, Emerald Dove, Oriental Honey Buzzard, Collared Falconet, Blue-winged Leafbird, Red-billed Blue-Magpie, Eurasian Jay, Black-hooded Oriole, Large Cuckooshrike, Rosy, Small, Grey-chinned, Scarlet and Short-billed Minivet, Black-naped Monarch, Rufous-bellied Niltava, Hill Myna, Brown-throated Treecreeper, Chestnut-crowned Warbler, White-crested Laughing-Thrush, Chestnut-fronted and White-browed Shrike-Babbler, Mr's Gould's, Green-tailed and Black-throated Sunbird, White-rumped Munia. (Total : 65 species ) 27 December 2005 (Areas covered : 34.5 km Jeep Track) Species seen included Rusty-naped Pitta, Orange-bellied Leafbird, Grey-backed Shrike, Short-billed and Grey-chinned Minivet, Blue Whistling-Thrush, Large Niltava, Brown-throated Treecreeper, White-tailed and Buff-barred Warbler, Chestnut-flanked White-eye, Chestnut-crowned Laughing-Thrush, Grey-throated and Golden Babbler, Rufous-winged and Grey-cheeked Fulvetta, Rufous-backed Sibia, Black-throated Parrotbill, Green-tailed, Mr's Gould's and Black-throated Sunbird, Blue-bearded Bee-eater. (Total : 45 species ) Lifers and highlights denoted in bold Back to Trip Reports main |